Marked for Davis Bulvitis
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Aug 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout6 Aug 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Ciganovs is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market6 Aug 2029
The phone has started ringing about Patricio Schroeder again, and this time the name on the line is Suduva. Skonto are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad6 Aug 2029
38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
Skonto have made the call to Alavés. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout6 Aug 2029
When it matters, Cody Twose plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market6 Aug 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Jul 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match23 Jul 2029
Skonto refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 30 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Everything agreed with Ludogorets, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad23 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Skonto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Jul 2029
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arturs Tarasovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Usman Abbas
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout23 Jul 2029
When it matters, Olegs Cauna plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market23 Jul 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Skonto will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market23 Jul 2029
The clock does Davis Bulvitis’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Skonto could ask drops and the wages Davis Bulvitis can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Jul 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 121 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market9 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Skonto is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market9 Jul 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Skonto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Ciganovs is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad9 Jul 2029
A falling-out at Skonto
Seun Ogunribide and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Roberts Oss and Skonto agree another 4 years.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Eduards Cauna
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Olympiacos have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match25 Jun 2029
Skonto are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 30 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market25 Jun 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jelgava waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Skonto is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Skonto asked and Dinamo Bryansk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Ciganovs is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Skonto
Arturs Tarasovs was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Olympiacos have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market25 Jun 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Davis Bulvitis has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Skonto.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
Olegs Cauna gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Olegs Cauna is on it.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
Gift Isioma knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Skonto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Apr 2029
Skonto up to position 2
16 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Skonto
Yeangel Montero was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Ogunribide was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Yeangel Montero is on it.
Looking ahead30 Apr 2029
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spartaks in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
Godwin John asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market30 Apr 2029
The clock does Davis Bulvitis’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Skonto could ask drops and the wages Davis Bulvitis can ask rise.
Market30 Apr 2029
Skonto have made Temitope Folarin available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
In brief
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Looking ahead
Home comforts ahead for Skonto
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Boardroom
The Skonto academy earns its keep
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The dugout
The manager comes out for Eduards Cauna
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market19 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Skonto is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Skonto
Roberts Savalnieks was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces19 Mar 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Goodluck Anuba has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match17 Mar 2029
It finished 2‑0, and it was Olegs Cauna’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Skonto.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Ogunribide was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
When it matters, Olegs Cauna plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom12 Mar 2029
5 academy graduates step up at Skonto
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Vladimirs Ciganovs falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market12 Mar 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nikita Vanins has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market12 Mar 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Janis Vanins has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market12 Mar 2029
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Roberts Savalnieks has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market12 Mar 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vitalijs Jurkovskis is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Skonto know it.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
Davis Bulvitis has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Skonto will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Michel Babatunde out for 29 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Skonto will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match19 Feb 2029
Skonto up to position 3
25 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market19 Feb 2029
Gatis Laizans has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Skonto they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A falling-out at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets19 Feb 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Ciganovs is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Olegs Cauna gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Olegs Cauna is on it.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to George Goodman, and the manager let it.
Market19 Feb 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Roberts Oss may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Michel Babatunde out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Skonto will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market12 Feb 2029
The phone has started ringing about Kaspars Dubra again, and this time the name on the line is Gomel. Skonto are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Skonto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Ogunribide was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A last season at home is what Temitope Folarin is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Davis Bulvitis is on it.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Patricio Schroeder has written the date down.
Market12 Feb 2029
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Arturs Ikaunieks leaves Skonto the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Feb 2029
44 days out for Michel Babatunde after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Skonto will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market5 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Skonto can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
Temitope Folarin: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Skonto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Skonto close the window on a squad of their own making
8 in and 8 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Skonto are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets5 Feb 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A falling-out at Skonto
Roberts Savalnieks and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Seun Ogunribide is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
Eduards Cauna gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eduards Cauna is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Jan 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market15 Jan 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Skonto people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
The deal with Slavia Prague is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Skonto can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Ogunribide was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market15 Jan 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Temitope Folarin asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Dec 2028
98 days out for Michel Babatunde after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Skonto will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad18 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimirs Ciganovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Dec 2028
A falling-out at Skonto
Seun Ogunribide and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vitalijs Ikaunieks commits to Skonto for another 3 years.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Davis Bulvitis is on it.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Godwin John knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Godwin John trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
A fracture rules Temitope Folarin out for 131 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Skonto will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market20 Nov 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vitalijs Ikaunieks will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Skonto the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Vladimirs Ciganovs falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Davis Bulvitis is on it.
Squad20 Nov 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Michel Babatunde keeps the shirt for now, at Skonto's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Skonto is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Skonto
Muritala Ibrahim was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arturs Tarasovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Davis Bulvitis has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Skonto will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Godwin John knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Godwin John trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Questions about Elijah Addai on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Sep 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vitalijs Ikaunieks will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Skonto the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A row about effort at Skonto
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimirs Ciganovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Temitope Folarin, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
Davis Bulvitis has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Skonto will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Patricio Schroeder has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Aug 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vitalijs Ikaunieks will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Skonto the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Skonto
Yeangel Montero was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimirs Ciganovs is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market28 Aug 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Skonto have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets28 Aug 2028
Levski have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Temitope Folarin, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
Davis Bulvitis has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Skonto will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
George Goodman asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Vladimirs Ciganovs plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Skonto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Jun 2028
Skonto say no — this time
The offer from Bukovyna for Kaspars Dubra was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market26 Jun 2028
Only the photograph left for Gatis Laizans
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gatis Laizans will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Skonto the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Temitope Folarin falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Jun 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Skonto people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market19 Jun 2028
Skonto say no — this time
The offer from Liepaja for Roberts Oss was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dāvis Ošs and Skonto agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market19 Jun 2028
The name of Kaspars Dubra has come up in conversations Skonto were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Patricio Schroeder falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Temitope Folarin, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Skonto
Olegs Cauna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for George Goodman, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Skonto training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Abbas is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Janis Bulvitis knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Skonto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market28 Feb 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Roberts Oss’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
In brief
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Squad
The penny has dropped for Usman Abbas
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The dugout
Godwin John keeps his manager's vote
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Boardroom
The Skonto board put their names to it
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Arturs Stolcers
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Skonto lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad31 Jan 2028
17 days out for Olegs Jurkovskis after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Skonto will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Skonto
Yeangel Montero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Skonto are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Jérôme Bonou
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Davis Bulvitis is on it.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Skonto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Roberts Oss’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.